Stevie Wonder presses Senate: 'The filibuster is not working for democracy'

Music icon Stevie Wonder on Tuesday pressed Senate lawmakers to enact a rules change in order to pass voting rights legislation, saying the filibuster "is not working for democracy."

In a video message posted on his YouTube channel, Wonder expressed his thoughts about the voting rights bill that Senate Democrats are expected to meet about on Tuesday.

"Any senator who cannot support the protection of voting rights in the United States of America cannot say they support the Constitution. Stop the hypocrisy, cut the 'bull-tish,' " Wonder said in his message.

"If you care and support our rights, do the hard work. You can't please everybody but you can protect all of us and to keep it all the way real: The filibuster is not working for democracy, why won't you?" he concluded.

Wonder's message comes as Democratic lawmakers have seen pressure from civil rights leaders, Martin Luther King Jr.'s family and President Biden on changing the Senate's filibuster rules to pass the legislation.

But Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have both opposed changing the rules in order to pass the landmark legislation.

West Virginia sports icons, including NBA Hall-of-Famer Jerry West and University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, recently penned a letter to Manchin urging his support for voting rights legislation.